N.Y.-based ticket broker S4K Entertainment has filed suit in state Supreme Court against MSG, alleging the parent company for the Knicks and NHL Rangers is wrongly limiting the number of tickets any one entity can buy. After many years making a business reselling tickets and operating a cloud-based platform aiding others to resell excess tickets, S4K recently received notice from MSG that returning customers could not buy more than eight season tickets to each team, and new ones were limited to four. S4K Entertainment alleges in the suit the new limits are in violation of the N.Y. State Arts & Cultural Law, which prohibits restrictions on “by any means the resale of any tickets included in a subscription or season ticket package.” SK4 has held up to 100 season-ticket subscriptions to the teams and caters heavily to high-end clients.
The ticket broker is seeking to have MSG enjoined from imposing such limits, a declaration that MSG is in violation of state law and damages to be determined at trial. The lawsuit represents another flashpoint in an ongoing industry trend in which many teams have sought to take greater control of the resale markets. MSG said the suit was without merit.
